Learn to slow down...

Picked this article from Rick Warren's Ministry in my Inbox today...

...and this is lately what I am trying to do more....which as irony as it sounds is to do less and slow down.

1. Learn Contentment - I have been telling myself more recently that I am blessed. I had a liver transplant. I can train and race with no difficulty. I have enough food to eat. I have a family...and goes on and on. I am joyful for what I have right now.

And I am learning to be positive in life. On Sun, a brother ask me how I am doing..and I sighed and say 'alright'. His feedback was, 'you don't sound alright.'

I figure there is something in my unconscious state that I am not satisfy.....so I guess I need to work on this. :)

2. Obey the Fourth Commandment - My day off is my day off. It is my time to relax. My day off is not to be cramp with social activities (have you ever go out too much that you are tired? I have). Yesterday was a good day. After lunch, instead of rushing out to run (I am training for a marathon), I decided to nap first. I am tired. After the nap, I went grocery shopping with my mom. Then I head out for a run at night.

There are many chores that need to be done and emails to answer. I kept it to the minimum.

3. Pause and Pray before deciding - I was telling my friend that 90% of decisions is often not urgent. And I have a habit of replying every email as fast as I can. Perhaps this is efficient. At the same time, I believe this is my part of justifying my insecurity by showing that I can handle any task.

Lately, I am trying to reply later. Think about it. Absorb it. Pray about it.

4. Learn to say no - this is a biggie. I jump into many many decisions and often double booked myself. The best part about training is coming to race day, I will purposely keep my schedule clear so I can relax. This means saying no to social occasions or helping out at ministry. When my schedule is less clutter, I am more content and able to think better...

Perhaps I should do this for the whole year instead of just one or two weeks before a race.

5. Trust God's timing - this is a biggie. I want to go and want to go now :). Welcome to the culture of instant gratification :0). And a lot of things I am slowly to learn is that I can force many things. And if I am frustrated about things I cannot control..perhaps it is better to trust on God....the challenge is...what things I cannot control?

The reality is that there is always enough time. God gives us enough time to do His Will. It is up to me to be good steward of time.

Ministry is a marathon...Actually it is more like an Ironman. It takes a lot of small and steady steps along the way....